BOX SCORE
Baltimore, Md. – Five starters in double figures, led by junior Nikkia Smith, who finished with 14, wasn't enough to thwart a hot shooting UMBC Retrievers as the Hartford women's basketball team fell to 1-4 in the America East following a 71-59 loss in Baltimore. Hartford now stands at 10-9 on the season, while UMBC improves to 10-8 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
Smith's 14 points is now the fourth-straight game the post player has led the Hawks in scoring. Daphne Elliott finished just behind Smith with 13 points, while Ruthanne Doherty and Alex Hall each finished with 10 points. Overall, 50 of the Hawks 59 total points came from the starting five. Taylor Clark led the Hawks off the bench with seven points.
Overall, Hartford shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55), struggling to find the twine in the second half as they hit just four baskets in 30 attempts. UMBC finished the game shooting 45.6 percent overall (26-of-57), including closing out the first 20 minutes with a 15-of-28 effort (53.6 percent). Erin Brown would finish the game with 24 points to lead all players, including three others in double figures for the home team.
Hartford followed an opening hoop from Brown with 11 unanswered point to pull ahead early. Elliott put the first points on the board for Hartford as she sunk three free throws after being fouled on an attempt from beyond the line. Three other players would put their first points in the book during the run.
Rookie Lauren Chase, this week's rookie of the week as announced by the America East office during the game, broke up the Hawks 11-0 run with a layup with 16:31 remaining and after a jump shot from Amber Bepko answered Chase's bucket, the Retrievers would pick up three straight buckets to make it a three point game with 14:10 remaining in the half.
Hartford answered that UMBC run with one of their own, scoring eight straight to pull ahead by double figures for the first time in the game. Two free throws from Elliott would provide the push over the double digit threshold. Two straight buckets from the Retrievers Brittany Crowell pulled that lead back in to single digits, but the Hawks would get it back into double figures on two more occasions, including the Hawks largest of the game, 31-18, with 4:47 remaining, which came on a free throw from Clark.
Following that lead, the Retrievers would go on to end the first half on a 17-1 run, which allowed them to take their second lead of the game, one they would never relinquish, and a 35-32 advantage into the locker room. The Hawks only point in that run came by way of a free throw from Bepko, while the Retrievers go ahead bucket came on a layup from Chase. She would go on to score the final points of the half with three seconds left on a pair of free throws.
UMBC came out of the halftime break the same way they went in, extending their run to 21-1 before the Hawks got on the board with a three pointer from Bepko, nearly 3:30 into the stanza. That three from Bepko began a 7-0 run for the Hawks as they pulled within a single possession on a layup from Smith off a feed from Doherty.
UMBC wouldn't back down, answering that run with an 11-2 scamper that put their lead back into double figures with 11:14 remaining. Chase and Kristen Coles provided the only points in that run, five from Chase and six from Coles.
After the Retrievers extended their lead to 13 with 5:25 remaining in the game, using a 7-0 run, which included a steal and fast break bucket from Coles to cap it off. The Hawks would end that run with a second chance bucket from Smith, which also ignited seven-straight for the Hawks, pulling the visitors into single digits, 61-55 with 2:43 remaining.
Erin Brown answered the final bucket of that run, a three pointer from Elliott, with one of her won, which swung the momentum back in the Retrievers favor as that bucket began an 8-0 run that gave the Retrievers a 69-55 lead with just over a minute remaining. Hartford would manage two more buckets in the half, both layups from Doherty, but it would prove to be too late in the game as the Retrievers took home the 71-59 victory in the first of two meetings this season between the Hawks and Retrievers.
The Hawks will return home for the second of three games this week when they host the Maine Black Bears on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
